Him Over Me
by Justthisfangirl
Summary: Rory Williams has always been second best to the other man in Amy's life, the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

_My first Doctor Who fic, and i know, i know, the Ponds are a perfect couple! But i thought it would be interesting to see what a break up would be like in the Pond household. Beta'd by imjustaklainer and TheNerdyMarauder, thanks girls!:D_

* * *

It was another Christmas day without the Doctor. Amy is keeping a smile on her face, but I can see the sadness behind her eyes. She's sitting there, listlessly pushing food around her plate.

"Uh, Amy-" I begin.

"Rory. I'm fine." she snaps.

"Calm down, I was only asking!"

"Well, don't ask in future, okay?" she says, her tone harsh. I can feel my blood begin to boil.

"Amy, face it, he's not coming. He never comes. We've waited for hours. Just like last year. And just like every birthday, and every celebration. He isn't coming back."

Amy stands up quickly, and picks up her plate, picking up the full plate of food for the Doctor in the other hand.

"I need him to come back." she says quietly, turning away, "It's not the same without him. It never is."

I sigh and stare at the table. "Why didn't you choose him then?" I mutter. She spins back around.

"What did you say?" she says harshly. My muscles tense as I see her open her mouth, and wince in expectation of the insults that are about to come out of her mouth. I decide to get in there first, decide to win this argument for once, decide to be the victor for once in my life.

"I said, Amy, why didn't you choose him? Since its obvious that the Doctor is the one you really want? I've never been good enough, ever since we were little. I was always second best to him, always trying to keep up. I was the one who had to pretend to be him, in your stupid Raggedy Man games. He left you, Amy. He's not coming back. He doesn't care about us, he doesn't care about you."

I see her eyes narrow as she glares at me.

"He did come back for me."

"He was twelve years late Amy! TWELVE YEARS. And you waited all that time. I waited for you while he was running around saving the world. I waited for you for 2,000 years. I was the one who kept you safe, after the Doctor got us in that stupid mess. I saved you, and defended you for 2,000 years. Even after you forgot me." I shout exasperatedly.

"I didn't mean to forget you, Rory! The Doctor-"

"THE DOCTOR HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON. I died, Amy. I died, and you forgot me. I have died so many times, does that mean nothing to you?"

"We have been through this, Rory! None of that was the Doctor's fault!" I can see her knuckles, practically white, clutching the plates. I stand up calmly, and take them from her, placing them down on the table, while I formulate my reply.

"Oh, really? None of it was his fault? So, even if we had never met the Doctor, I would have died anyway? If we hadn't have met him, I would have been a Roman regardless? I would have been erased from time? I would have had my own daughter stolen from me?" I say sarcastically.

"River is my daughter too. Don't you dare drag River into this, Rory. She has nothing to do with this-"

"AMY. SHE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS. We have chased her across the galaxy, trying to keep up, and we can never find her. We didn't even get to watch her grow up. You gave birth to her, and, BAM, she's a fully grown woman who has escaped from prison. If we hadn't met the Doctor, we would have been a normal family." By the end of my outburst, my voice is barely is whisper.

"Rory, normal is boring." Amy says bluntly.

"Normal may well be boring. But it's safe. I'm sorry if I don't want to get myself killed, just so the Doctor can swan into our lives again, and take off when he's had enough of us,mor found a new plaything. He has no idea how dangerous he makes people to themselves. He makes people take risks, and makes you want to impress him. You never want to let him down. When you're with him, I can barely see you. All you want to do is run around and have an adventure. You don't care about what happens to anyone else when you're with him, nobody, not even River. Not even me. But I can't live like that anymore. I can't do this, Amy. I just can't." I croak, with the words catching in my throat.

"If you can't do 'this' anymore, Rory, you might as well go. We need to wait until he comes back. I can't abandon him, Rory." she shouts. I gaze at her quietly. I look down at my hand, and see my wedding ring. As I speak, I twist the ring slowly around my finger.

"But you'll abandon me? And I'm not waiting for him anymore. I've spent my whole life waiting for you to wait for him, and picking up the pieces when he leaves you. I'm done." With that I twist the ring off my finger, and leave it on the dining table, amongst the plates. I see Amy's mouth fall open as she stares at my discarded ring, just before I turn and storm towards my front door.

"Where do you think you'll go?"Amy calls. "You don't know anybody else!"

I look back at her silently. " Exactly, Amy, exactly." I open my blue front door, TARDIS blue, I notice bitterly, and walk out into the street.


	2. Chapter 2

_Beta'd by imjustaklainer. Let me know if you want more, still not sure on this fic :/_

* * *

I gaze blindly at the drink in front of me. _Amy was right. I don't know anybody else. My friends haven't spoken to me in years, not since the wedding, after I vanished off the face of the earth - literally. My parents won't speak to me either, since I can't give them a decent answer as to where I was during all that time I was with the Doctor. And the only people I know now are Amy's friends, and I can't exactly go to them now, can I? Great. When I was a little kid, this was really not how I imagined my life would be. An out-of-work nurse, a half-alien daughter in prison, with a breaking-down marriage, giving up everything to chase his fiancee's imaginary best friend across the universe_. _Oh yes, my life is the stuff dreams are made of._ I raise my glass to my lips, and take a large drink.

I am stirred out of my thoughts by the seat next to me creaking as it is occupied. The occupier of the seat turns to look at me. I turn away quickly before I see his face or make eye contact. _Oh God, the last thing I need right now is to get hit on in a bar by some strange guy. Please don't try to talk to me. Please. _Suddenly, a slurping sound from my right catches my attention, and I turn to see the man next to me drinking from his glass with a straw, grimacing every time the alcohol entered his mouth.

"A straw? Really?" I mutter incredulously.

The man shrugs, and replies "It adds extra fizz." My eyes widen as I realise that the man sitting next to me is the Doctor.

"Doctor, what the hell are you doing here?" I say bluntly, turning to face him.

"Amy ca-" He began.

"Amy called you. Typical." I raise my glass to my lips again. "Anything happens, and she always goes running straight to you. I always was second best." I'm vaguely aware that I'm slurring my words. _Dammit. If I've noticed, the Doctor has definitely noticed_. The Doctor frowned, and plucked my glass from my hands.

"Okay, Rory and alcohol is not a good combination. A very not good combination. How many of these have you had?" I lean over and try to snatch my glass back. "Enough, anyway" the Doctor continues. "Look, Rory, just tell me what's wrong."

I sighed and looked down at the bar. "You want to know what's wrong? You're what's wrong. You and Amy. You have no idea just how dangerous you make her to herself. You gave Amy everything I couldn't give her, and now I'm not enough. You know how she used to be a kiss-o-gram? Well, since you bought us the house, we don't have to work, but yet she still kisses people for money. If she really wanted to work, why couldn't she get a normal job? She always said she would give it up when we got married, but now she just flaunts it in my face. She's never home, and when she is, she's either completely drunk and screaming about how she could have stayed with you and seen the universe, or she's acting as if I don't even exist. What kind of life is that, Doctor? My old friends won't talk to me, I can't get a job - even if I wanted to, since who's going to hire someone that went AWOL for two years? - and my wife doesn't want to know. I love her, so, so much. But I can't be around her when she's like this. I can't be around her at all." I look up to see the Doctor staring at me strangely. "What?"

The Doctor continued staring for a second, then looked away. A somewhat wistful expression crossed his face. "Did I ever tell you about a friend of mine? Martha? Martha Jones?"


	3. Chapter 3

_I continued with this fic regardless, I'm starting to kind of like it ;) anyway, beta'd by imjustaklainer and mimie-puddleduck. Thank you!:D_

* * *

The Doctor pushes me out of the door of the TARDIS, into a quiet street, before following me, and locking the door.  
"Doctor, where are we? Or, when are we?" I ask him.  
"2007. Just after the fall of Harold Saxon, Prime Minister of Britain" Seeing my confused frown, he waves a hand dismissively. "Long story for another time. Anyway, Rory, 2007, before you even knew I existed."  
"Wow. Nothing like a spot of time travel to sober you up" I say, smirking.  
"Rory, focus, there's something you have to see." He grabs the arm of my jacket and strides away purposefully, dragging me with him.  
"Hey! Hey!" I yelp, "I do have legs you know, I do know how to follow!"  
"Shut up, Rory. Not much time." We come to the street corner, and I see it. The TARDIS. Another TARDIS.  
"But- but I thought you were the only one!" I exclaim.  
"Shh!" He says, pressing a finger to my lips absent-mindedly. "I am. This is going to require more explaining than I thought. I'll explain later, when there's more time."  
"Uh, okay, silent. I can do that." I say obediently, my words muffled as his finger presses down hard on my lips. The Doctor checks his watch, before pulling me towards the TARDIS. The other TARDIS. As we get to the door, the Doctor let's go of my arm and starts fumbling in his coat pockets for his key.  
"Are they all the same colour blue?" I wonder aloud.  
"Rory. Shut. Up." The Doctor whispers forcefully. I roll my eyes and nod. With a flourish, the Doctor finds his key and sticks it into the TARDIS lock. He pushes me inside forcefully.  
"Quick, quick, quick" he mutters. "Can't be seen. Shouldn't even be here. If he sees me..." The Doctor seems to shudder slightly at this thought. He quickly bundles me down the stairs and under the console.  
"I thought that floor was glass?" I question.

"People redecorate, Rory. Now, sit still and be quiet!" The Doctor whispered exasperatedly.

* * *

With a creak the TARDIS door swung open, and I craned my neck to see who had entered. A tall man in a long brown coat that almost sweeped the floor sauntered in. He ran a hand through his messy, sticking-up brown hair, while, in the other hand, twiddling what appeared to be a sonic screwdriver. He walked towards the console, and started fiddling with buttons.  
The door swung open again, and a pretty black girl in a faded red leather jacket walked in, slipping her mobile phone into her pocket. The man in the brown coat looked up at her entrance, and his face broke into a large grin.  
He started babbling excitedly, striding towards the girl, speaking at a hundred miles an hour with an infectious smile. "Right then! Off we go! The open road! There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like oil on water. Fancy a look? Or…back in time. We could…I don't know, Charles II? Henry VIII? I know! What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie! I bet she's brilliant!" The girl stands there and looks. Just looks. She doesn't even crack a smile during his speech.  
"Uh, okay..." The man says, with a vaguely confused expression.  
The girl finally opens her mouth, and says "I just can't."  
This seems to confuse the man further, and words appear to fail him, as he replies with simply, "Yeah."

The girl sighed and wrapped her arms around herself."Spent all these years training to be a doctor." she says, "Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them."  
The man smiles sadly, "Of course not. Thank you, Martha Jones, you saved the world." He reaches out and hugs the girl, Martha, tightly. From my vantage point I can see tears beginning to form in her eyes. I glance at the Doctor, and find he is staring intently, and sadly, at the pair.  
Martha breaks the hug, and looks the man in the eyes, "Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best. But you know what? I am good. You gonna be all right?"  
The man seems to quickly put on a bravado, and shrugs, saying, "Always. Yeah."  
Martha looked at him for a few seconds, before saying "Right, then." She kisses him on the cheek then turns, and walks away. The man watches her leave sadly, before turning to the console. His shoulders slump.  
Suddenly, the door swings open again, and Martha strides back into the TARDIS. She takes a deep breath, and starts babbling. "'Cause the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky, she lived with this bloke, student housing, there were five of them, all packed in, and this bloke was called Sean. And she loved him, she did. She completely adored him. Spent all day long talking about him."  
The man looked at her silently, during her speech, and when she paused to take a breath, he interjected with, "Is this going anywhere?"  
Martha gave a sound of indignation, before exclaiming "Yes!"

The man crossed his arms and leaned back against the console, as Martha continued "'Cause he never looked at her twice. I mean, he liked her, but that was it. And she wasted years pining after him, years of her life, 'cause while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her, I always said to her, time and time again, I said: Get out. So this is me, getting out." She reaches into her pocket and tosses her mobile to him, whilst still talking. He fumbles, and nearly drops the phone, never taking his eyes off her.

"Keep that." she says firmly, "'Cause I'm not having you disappear. If that rings, when that rings, you better come running. Got it?"

The man nods seriously, and mutters "Got it."  
Martha smiles sadly, and turns, calling "I'll see you again, mister."

* * *

The Doctor seems to shake himself and finally turns to look at me. I frown as I watch a single tear trail slowly down his cheek. He quickly looks away, before slipping his hand into his pocket. He brings out his sonic screwdriver, and points it at the far corner of the console room. Quickly, sparks begin to fly, and the man at the console runs hurriedly towards it. While the man is distracted, the Doctor drags me up the stairs and quickly pushes me out of the door. I stumble into the street, closely followed by the Doctor, and I step away from the TARDIS, as the familiar groaning sound coincides with the blue box fading away.

The Doctor looks at the screwdriver, and back at the spot where the blue box stood.  
"Oh. _Oh_. OH. I disabled the TARDIS shields. That explains the Titanic." He stuffs the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket frustratedly, muttering to himself about stupid screwdrivers, stupid shields, stupid ships and stupid, stupid Doctor.  
"Doctor?" I ask, quietly. "Who was that?"  
"That, Rory, was the brilliant Martha Jones. I didn't realise how brilliant she was until she was gone. She's married now. Married Mickey the Idiot. Long story for another time. But, Rory, either you're the person who doesn't know what they have until it's gone, or you're the person who knows exactly what they have, and gets out while they can."


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor drops me off a few metres from my front door. As I leave the TARDIS, he says "Go make things better, okay? For both of you." I nod, and walk up to my house. I unlock my door as the TARDIS fades away.  
I open the door, calling "Amy, it's me. Look, we need-" I stop talking when I see a note lying on the table.

**Gone out.  
Don't wait up  
A.**

I sigh and take my phone from my pocket, quickly typing a message.

**Amy, where are you? We need to talk.  
Rory x **

I press 'send' and slip my phone back into my pocket. A faint beeping comes from the kitchen. I frown, and follow the sound. Amy's phone is lying on the work top, right next to both our wedding rings. _She took it off_. I walk over to the phone, and flip it open. I open up the list of recently dialed calls.  
'The Doctor: 18:03  
The Doctor: 18:07  
The Doctor: 18:13'

The list went on and on, with Amy repeatedly calling the Doctor's number for the last, I checked my watch, three hours. I frowned, as I noticed that not a single call lasted more than a few seconds. _He can't have picked up the phone. But, how did he kno- never mind. It's the Doctor. The Doctor's not the most important thing right now. Amy is._

I quickly opened Amy's contacts, and scrolled down.

Jeff _(God, haven't spoken to him in years!)_  
Jo _(Jo? Haven't got a clue who that is.)_  
Mels _(Has Amy really not deleted Mels yet?)_  
Mum & Dad (_...at least she still talks to her parents.)_  
River _(No point calling her, every time I try, the prison guards answer and that never ends well.)_  
Rory _(At least she hasn't deleted me yet!)_  
Sophie _(Sophie? Oh yeah, that girl with the baby and the husband - Alfie? No, that was the baby - that the Doctor introduced us to. He thought it would be like some couple thing. Another idea that backfired. I accidentally insulted them straight away. Damn.)__  
The Doctor (Obviously.)_

_She really doesn't have many contacts. Does she even have many friends? But she's always 'out with the girls'? Or is she...? I don't know. I don't even know where she is. I can't call her parents, they'll freak out if I say their daughter has gone AWOL. Who to ask? Not Jeff, he'll have a field day if he finds out about us arguing. River doesn't need to know, and, the Doctor, well, he already knows. Sophie? If her husband picks up, that will not end well. I think he hates me. Why am I even standing here? It would surely be easier to find her myself! _  
I pull on my coat, shoving my keys and mobile into my pockets. On my way towards the door, I spot Amy's note. I flip it over, and scribble a reply.

'**Amy,****  
If you're reading this, I'm looking for you. Stay here until I get back, we need to talk.  
R x'**

I hurry out of the door, letting it swing shut behind me. I quickly get into my car, and start the engine._Where would Amy go_? I shake my head exasperatedly. _I have no idea_. I drive slowly down the street, looking around me frantically. _The junction. Left or right? Which way would she go? We always turn right to go town, it's faster. But how is Amy thinking? She always does exactly the opposite to what I tell her_. I shift the car into gear, and turn left.


	5. Chapter 5

I've been up and down every road in town. _She's not here. Where the hell is she?_ I sigh and park the car on the side of the road. I get out, and slam the door, hard, making an old woman walking along the pavement jump, looking at me with frightened eyes. I shrug at her, and she tuts and keeps walking. Leaning against the car, I look up. _Amy, where are you?_ I stare glumly at the sky, searching hopelessly for that blue box to be zigzagging through the sky. _Even if Amy is with him, at least I would know where she is. Well, I'd know who she was with at least._ A movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I squint to see what it is. _Oh my god. Who is that?_ I stand up quickly and look at the roof of the building in front of me. _Shitshitshitshit. What does she think she's doing, standing on the edge of a roof like that? Has she got a death wish? Oh. I suppose she does, whoever it is._ I see the person raise a hand to move their red hair away from their face. Red hair. _Oh, God, no._  
"STAY RIGHT THERE!" I yell. The person looks down at me, startled. I can't see their face from down here, _maybe it's not her! But what if it is? Either way, I can't let whoever-it-is do this, I'm a nurse for God's sake. An unemployed nurse, but that doesn't matter._  
"Don't move!" I call, before running through the open doors of the building.

* * *

I push open the door of the Fire Escape, and walk towards the figure facing away from me. Slowly walking towards them, I can see their red hair more vividly, blowing in the wind, and they're shivering, their short skirt offering little protection from the weather. Amy.  
"Amy?" I say softly. She jumps, spinning around at the noise. Her foot slips, and she wobbles back and forward. I run towards her, desperately, as she topples backwards. I grasp her hand, and am almost pulled over the edge myself. Her free hand reaches up to grasp mine, and I hold on to her tightly.  
"Amy, what the hell do you think you're doing?"  
She looks up at me with red rimmed eyes, with her mascara snaking trails down her cheeks. "Talking is not my priority right now, Rory. Now get me up!"  
"I'm trying!" I groan. "You're too heavy!"  
"RORY!" She shrieks, as one of her hands slips out of my grasp. I lunge forward and grab her with the other hand and pull. Pull like I've never pulled before. A pair of arms wraps around my waist, and pulls me backwards. Me and the figure behind me pull, as Amy slowly rises. She wriggles until her stomach is half over the ledge, and with one last pull, she falls over the edge, and lies there, flat on her stomach, coughing.  
I step away, my head spinning. She tried to kill herself. Oh my god. Oh my freaking god. I realise there are tears running down my face, and I wipe them away, turning to see who helped me.

He's standing there, hovering by the Fire Escape, awkwardly adjusting his bowtie, not making eye contact. I stumble towards him.  
"How- How did you know to come?" I wheeze.  
"You weren't at home. And considering I had about forty missed calls off her, I knew something was wrong with Amy. Speaking of." With that he runs towards her, and slowly helps her to her feet.  
She flings her arms around him and sobs. I move towards the pair, and hover there as she cries. I reach out a hand, and rest a hand on her shoulder. She turns, and sees me, tearing herself off the Doctor, and throwing her arms around me. Over her shoulder, I can see the Doctor's vaguely bemused expression, and I mouth "I'll tell you later." at him, before wrapping one arm around Amy, and smoothing down her hair with the other.  
"It's ok. It'll be ok. You're fine. We're fine." I whisper into her ear, and she squeezes her arms around me tighter. I wait until she has no tears left, still clinging to each other. Eventually she pulls away, wiping her eyes. She looks me in the eye for the first time.  
"I'm sorry, Rory. I am."  
I smile slightly. "It's ok, Amy." She smiles back weakly. Slipping one arm around my waist, she turns to face the Doctor, who has retreated back to standing near the Fire Escape, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.  
"Are we going with you?"  
The Doctor pulls on his bowtie nervously, smiling sadly. "Not this time, Pond." Amy nods quietly, and looks down at the floor.  
I nudge her, "How about if we get down off this roof, eh?" She pulls her arm away and walks towards the door and slips through it quietly.  
The Doctor clears his throat, "Well, Mr Pond. What was that all about?" I frown at him, bewildered.  
"You mean you don't know?" I say incredulously. "But, you're here! And I told you earlier!"  
"Earlier? Rory, this is the first time I've seen you in weeks!" He says, confused.  
"Doctor, I saw you earlier, and we saw Martha?" I remind him.  
"Martha?" His eyes widen, and he mutters, "Oh. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey."  
"Um, anyway. Thanks for showing me that, Doctor. It helped." I smile at him, before turning and following Amy down the stairs.  
I can vaguely hear him say "Well, well, well, Martha Jones." as he slips out of earshot.

* * *

Amy is waiting by the car as I leave the building, gazing at the floor. Upon hearing me approach, she looks up.  
"We've got a lot to talk about, huh?" She says quietly.  
"Later, Amy. We can talk later. For now, I'm just glad you're safe."  
"I'm sorry, Rory. I love you. I do. It's just- just... Never mind. I love you. That's all that matters to me right now. I'm sorry, I am." She flings her arms around me again, and we watch the sky as we hear that familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerializing.  
"Do you think he'll forget us someday?" Amy says, dropping her head onto my shoulder.  
"I don't think he ever forgets anyone. Even if they leave him. So, no, Amy. He won't forget us." I wriggle an arm free and lift her chin so she can look at me.  
"Now, we're going to go home." I grin. "Come along, Pond."


End file.
